Force of Impact
by moni-neechan
Summary: [University AU] Natsu and Lucy meet at university under rather unfortunate circumstances and that's even before parties, rumors and school work take their crazy toll on the blooming relationship between the two.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful summer day, the sun beating down harshly on the huge campus of Magnolia University. Unusually many students were to be seen, combining their studying and tanning, some apparently studying so hard that a bad sunburn could already be seen coming on. From time to time a slight breeze blew by, which was always accompanied by a content sigh from the athletes currently participating in various sports, trying to do their best without succumbing to the heat and melting like ice in the sunshine. The low energy setting everyone seemed to be in could definitely be heard, or not heard for that matter, since the usually rowdy soccer team was exceptionally quiet. The only two with enough strength and spirit to actually make a ruckus were the two forwards of the team, who, to make matters worse, were on different teams in training.

"What kind of shot was that, you icy bastard? I didn't ask you to forfeit, you know," one of them shouted across half the field as he ran towards his teammate, who had just stolen the ball after a bad pass from the other.  
"Shut up flame brain, you got me distracted with that freaky weird hair of yours," the other shouted back.  
In what felt like mere seconds both met in the middle of the field, glaring daggers at each other and making up allegedly creative insults halfheartedly. Laxus, the team captain, didn't even try to stop them, because he knew they wouldn't listen anyway, and frankly he didn't care much about those two idiots. So they were going at it, until a shout from the sidelines shut them up effectively.  
"Natsu, Gray, are you fighting again," a tall redhead had asked from the track and looked at them sharply as she warmed up her muscles for the training session that was to come. Immediately the two troublemakers went silent, high fived and went back to their respective places on the field shivering. With a satisfied smile the redhead and childhood friend of the players started her warm up run, not even glancing right when she passed the universities tennis courts.

There a cute blond girl relentlessly chased one ball after the other.  
"This heat is killing me, Levy. Want to grab some ice cream on the way home," she asked her hitting partner, as the other passed the ball by her with ease.  
"Lu-chan, you have to concentrate better," she scolded. "But yeah sure, ice cream sounds amazing."  
The two girls smiled at each other before taking a quick water break. Rubbing her tired legs the blonde looked around the campus a little, quickly frowning at the soccer team. She'd never liked that sport. Somehow it just seemed so barbaric.  
That's at least what she said if someone asked her, when in reality she was just mad at the fact that she totally sucked at playing. She had tried a few times, but as far as she was concerned, getting hit in the face by a ball three times in two games was just about the final straw.  
She'd take tennis over soccer any day. Tennis was a respectful sport, where you had a safe distance to everything and everyone and also you get to wear cute clothes, which was a big plus for the popular young girl. Also her dad had sent her to tennis lessons ever since she had been 7 years old, which led to her actually being quite good at it too. With her competitive nature that sure was a plus.  
The two ended their break, casually chatting as they kept on playing. She was so looking forward to her reward ice cream later. That way though at least the time passed quickly. She soon found herself in the showers, washing away all the sweat and red clay that stuck to her petite frame, softly humming a tune.  
When Lucy walked outside, her golden hair was tied in a messy wet bun. It was still uncomfortably bright, so she stopped briefly to search her purse for her sunglasses and wait for Levy, who was still packing up her things.

"Watch out!"  
She barely looked up, before she felt something big hitting her square in the face. She blinked a few times, and looked down at a soccer ball, slowly rolling away. If it hadn't hurt like it did, she would have laughed at the irony of it all. When she finally looked up angrily there was already a boy running over to her, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to hit you, I was actually aiming at Gray," he tried to explain, pointing towards a snickering black haired, and for some reason shirtless, guy a few feet behind him. When he looked at her and saw the dark glare he was receiving, he couldn't help but be reminded of his strict childhood friend Erza.  
"Sorry my ass," Lucy just snapped at the boy, still carefully cradling her cheek, before turning on her heel and stalking off. Natsu was still mesmerized by the Erza-glare those creamy chocolate brown eyes had shot him, so he didn't object as he watched her retrieving back. As he did that, somehow the only thing he could think of was how her tennis bag seemed awfully big for her small frame.

Of course Lucy told her best friend all about what happened over a big strawberry sundae with whipped cream, sprinkles and lots of chocolate sauce, after getting a different kind of ice for her face. They sat there and laughed about it, making up cool stories for her to tell on how she got the bruise that was mercilessly forming on her cheek. They came up with seven heroic tales in total, but even so she couldn't stop thinking about how that boy looked kind of odd with his sweat-matted pink hair. Or was it more of a salmon color?


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning started early for the young blonde, as she had morning classes and aspired to squeeze in a run around campus before that. It would be way too hot for that in the afternoon after all.  
Lucy dragged herself out of bed and trotted to the bathroom, but when she looked in the mirror she almost let her toothbrush clatter into the sink.  
There on her usually peachy face with perfect skin, was a huge violet bruise right beneath her right temple. Shocked she screeched loudly and quickly fumbled for her foundation, dabbing it on carefully to at least cover it up a little. She hadn't realized just how bad it was the day before. With a sigh she changed into her cutest workout clothes, tied her hair into a high ponytail and made for the door.

Blasting Fall Out Boy through her headphones she jogged along the sidewalk. Only few cars passed her this early in the morning, even though it was already bright and warm outside. She ran past the labs, the lecture halls and the sports grounds. Because her music was still turned up all the way in an attempt to release her anger and frustration, the blonde didn't hear another person coming up behind her. That caused her to screech loudly, when she felt a hand grab the back of her shirt. Lucy immediately turned around into a karate-like stance, not ready but willing to punch the predator, just to come face to face with that same mop of weird hair from the day before. Within milliseconds the murderous glare was back on her face as she put down her headphones.

"Tennis girl!"  
"That's not my name, and what the fuck? Why are you creeping up on me like that? Haven't you done enough," the girl whined, pointing harshly at the traces of blue beneath her eye.  
The boy didn't seem phased by her rudeness though. Either he had decided not to notice or he was really an oblivious idiot, she thought.  
"I'm really sorry for yesterday, you know. Can I make it up somehow? Let me run with you and afterwards we'll get ice cream!"  
Lucy frowned at the suggestion, because she really liked ice cream, while she really didn't like this guy. She weighed her options, but seeing a determined grin on the other's face made her realize, that he wouldn't take no for an answer. She sighed in defeat.  
"Alright, but don't drag me down, soccer boy."  
"No Ma'am," he saluted jokingly, before reaching into his pocket turning up the volume of his MP3 Player. "Also, good music taste you got there."

He laughed then, a carefree happy laugh, and true enough Lucy could hear the dull sounds of 'Uma Thurman' coming from his own, fiery red headphones. He then grabbed her hand, pulling her along the road again, starting their run.  
"Let's go, tennis girl, I'm hungry."  
Said girl disbelievingly stared at his hand clutching hers as she was dragged along.  
"My name is Lucy, you idiot," she said with a sigh, breaking free of his grip and started running next to him.

The time passed in relative silence, both lost in their own thoughts and music as they made their way around the campus and towards the ice cream parlor down at the university's main gates. Surprisingly Natsu seemed to go for the same path she usually took and yet she had never seen him before the incident the day before.  
"Say, are you running here often?"  
The boy turned his head at the question and shook his head no.  
"Usually I run outside of town where I live. I helped some friends with something last night and crashed there. Also conveniently I have first period off today." He followed that statement with pumping his fist in the air to celebrate the additional free time.

With the ice cream parlor in sight they slowed their running and the girl had to admit, that she was quite out of breath. Competitive as she was though, she would never give a boy the satisfaction of asking to slow his pace. Lucy sat down in the area outside the little shop, while she waited for Natsu to get her the promised dessert. Only few people walked by as she absentmindedly stared at a river flowing peacefully in front of her. Her thoughts soon were disrupted by Natsu's voice.

"You're weird, you know?"  
Did she mention that he had an obnoxious voice?  
"And why is that," the blonde asked through gritted teeth, her eyebrow twitching dangerously. The boy didn't seem phased though as he put the strawberry sundae down in front of her.  
"Usually girls who go running or something do that to stay thin or whatever, right? Yet here you are, right after your workout, ordering what's probably the closest thing to a sugar explosion on the menu."  
"For your information," she retorted, puffing out her cheeks, "I'm exactly the right weight for my height. And you're one to talk with that safety hazard you got for yourself. I mean, isn't that tabasco sauce on there?"  
She looked at him confusedly, but Natsu simply shrugged his shoulders.  
"I like spicy things. I don't see what's wrong with that. Also I didn't mean it in a bad way, you know. Girls who don't eat nice stuff because of stupid reasons are totally suspicious. So you're the good kind of weird," he finished, giving her what must have been the purest and most honest grin Lucy had ever seen. The tension in her jaw eased lightly at the explanation.

They kept talking about everything, from sports over hobbies to university. Apparently Natsu was studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Fire Science in his 3rd semester, while Lucy attended classes for her Business major and creative writing minor. His dark eyes looked bored when he talked about classes, excited when he talked about his friends and soccer and they held a interested sparkle when he asked her about his impression that tennis was a game for rich people. Apparently he knew just how to break her out of her shell with his teasing.

They laughed and joked so much, that when Lucy quickly glanced at her watch, noticing that she had missed first period, she couldn't even bring herself to mind. That is until her cellphone started vibrating with a call from Levy.  
"Lu-chan, where are you? And don't tell me you've overslept! I was at your door this morning to pick you up, but the only one appreciating my knock solo was your next door neighbor angrily shouting at me to stop."  
"Ah you caught me. Sorry, Levy, I got distracted. I'll be right there."  
She looked up at Natsu with an apologetic smile.  
"I'm sorry, but I guess I really have to go. Thanks for the ice cream, guess I'll see you around?"  
The boy didn't seem to respond though, seeing as he wordlessly looked her up and down with raised eyebrows.  
"You're really gonna go like that," he asked, pointing at her workout clothes. True enough she was only wearing leggings and a short crop top over her sports bra.  
"I don't really have a chance now, do I? But thanks for the concern."  
That's when he shrugged out of his sleeveless black sweater vest and lazily threw it at her head.  
"Take this at least, I have a spare shirt in my locker." Shamelessly he leaned back in his chair, making the bright morning sun reflect of his sweaty and now shirtless torso.

She was about to protest, but Natsu quickly continued.  
"That way we have a reason to meet again."  
There it was again, the angelic grin. Lucy hat to admit that it was pretty damn hard to say no to that.  
"Well, if you insist," she mumbled, blushing, already zipping up the vest.  
"I do. See you around then, weirdo."  
Somehow not even mad at the nickname, the blonde gave a short wave before power walking back to campus and out of Natsu's sight.  
"Lucy," he murmured her name once again for himself, smiling after her. Then he too got out of his seat and made his way to a different end of the campus, attracting quite a lot of attention on the way, which he happily ignored.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy was quite impressed of the carefree attitudes people showed at university. In her old life it would have been unthinkable to show herself only in leggings, runners, sports bra and a vest, but on Campus nobody really seemed to mind that much, so she simply strolled through the halls smiling softly after freshening up in one of the bathrooms. Having arrived at the lecture Lucy slipped into her seat next to Levy, just in time to watch their professor stride into the room. She hadn't even had the chance to ask her blue haired friend for a spare pen and paper, when she already felt said girl's elbow nudging her.

"Whose shirt is that? Is he cute? Do I know him? Is that why you're –" Lucy then shut down the other girls excitement by putting a finger to her lips, effectively shutting her up.  
"Doesn't matter. Kind of. No, I don't think so. Can I borrow a pen and paper?"  
"Kind of cute? What a frustrating answer. I need all juicy details! And no you can not, at least until you've told me who the shirt belongs to."

Under her breath, Lucy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'demon', but Levy just smiled her most angelic and at the same time evil smile, more or less patiently awaiting her answer. "Fine. But only because we both know that I need these notes. It's Natsu's shirt. That's the guy that's responsible for this great accessory on my face," she frowned, pointing at the darkening bruise on her cheek.

"Tell me everything," Levy gushed, leaning closer towards her friend resting her head on her fists excitedly, but the blonde just stared back pointedly.  
"Fine, here you have your pen and paper," the other girl sighed and pushed her pad over.

The two then started chatting about the 'cutie', as Levy had begun to call him. Lucy all the while tried to convince her friend, that it was indeed no big deal at all, so when their professor finally shushed them, she gladly complied. When lunch came around she had thankfully managed to change the subject to an upcoming party that evening. One of the fraternities was hosting a casual get together to celebrate the opening of their newly built pool.

Usually the two girls wouldn't have been invited, hadn't Levy made friends with two boys who lived there. Jet and Droy were practically all over her as they had insisted she'd come and also bring someone. While Lucy usually was more of the staying home type of person, she was actually looking forward to it. Those guys and girls had founded one of the coolest cliques on campus and Lucy was really excited to make friends with them. She had heard a lot about the notorious 'Fairy Tail', as they called themselves and one of those things was that they always went overboard at parties.

"What should I wear, though," she mused aloud, mentally rummaging through her drawers.  
"It's a pool party, Lu-chan, so I would suggest something including a bikini. I bet you look gorgeous in those, too."  
The smaller girl just looked down and slightly frowned at her breasts, or rather lack thereof.  
"Don't be stupid Levy. I'm sure you'll look way cuter-" She didn't quite finish her sentence, as she was distracted by a mop of pink hair at the other end of the cafeteria.  
"Anyway, I think we should get to our next class, Lu-chan. See you tonight then. Please be there on time, I don't wanna walk around all alone."  
"Sure thing Levy. See you later," the blonde answered with a smile and waved a short goodbye. Seeing as Lucy was quite committed to class, the afternoon went by in a flash as she listened to her professor go on about how important conflicts are in creative writing.

That evening she stepped up to the dorm door exactly two minutes to eight, when Levy and her had agreed to meet, but of course the bluenette was already there waiting for her.  
"Lu-chan, you look amazing," she complimented Lucy, eyeing her up and down in appreciation. The blonde had gone for a simple white bikini with purple flowers on it, covered up by denim shorts and a black crochet shirt. She blushed slightly and twirled one of her slight beach waves around her finger.

"You're one to talk, Levy," she retorted, noticing how cute the girl looked in her red and white striped two piece. Before they could procrastinate going inside any longer though, Jet and Droy caught sight of them, quickly dragging the smaller girl inside. Even though Lucy followed right behind, soon the trio had disappeared, with the boys giving Levy a tour of the dorm. Lucy felt quite lost then, so her steps carefully followed the sounds of booming music from what seemed to be the backyard, where only few people had already arrived.

She looked around, eyeing the pool and the people buzzing about, getting done some last decor chores. The area was lit with beautiful dim, but colorful lighting and loaded with floaties in all shapes. Lucy's sandals clicked on the dark stone ground as she walked over to the bar, where a single girl with really bright hair was preparing cups and decorations. She noticed the girl and turned around, a brilliant smile on her smooth features.

"Hi, can I help you somehow? I'm Mirajane, but everyone just calls me Mira." Her welcoming attitude instantly made Lucy feel at ease as she plopped down on one of the stools.  
"Seems I'm a little bit early. My name's Lucy, nice to meet you. Can I just hang around for a while, because I don't know anyone yet."  
"Sure thing Lucy. You'll get to know them soon enough, I'm sure. Especially the boys are usually really talkative," Mira answered, sighing amusedly. "Can I get you anything?"  
And so they chatted away, about their studies and whatnot until a booming voice drew their attention towards it.

"Hanging the lights is MANLY!" When Lucy turned to watch the scene she saw a huge bulky guy with white hair staring down at a shorter black haired guy, who was only wearing his swim trunks. Somehow Lucy even thought she should recognize him, but couldn't quite place it though.  
"You weren't around, so I hung up the lights. I don't see what the big deal is."  
"My sister asked me to do it, so it's my job!" The two started brawling right there on the spot and the blonde looked worriedly at them. Mira just sighed though and explained that friendly fights like that happened all the time. Soon she stepped out behind the bar though and went over to the two fighting men.

"Boys, quit it please. You're leaving a bad impression on our guest." Immediately silence came over the fighting pair and they paused mid-brawl, still leaning towards each other and fists raised protectively in front of their bodies. The only thing that moved were their eyes as their gaze shifted over to said guest. "Oh, sorry," the shorter boy said and loosened his posture as he trotted over towards the bar, while the other just said something about how manly having guests is.  
"I didn't realize there were already people around. Wait - aren't you the girl Natsu hit with the soccer ball?" At that Lucy's brown eyes widened in realization. "Yeah I am. And I remember you actually, I just didn't seem to get your name."  
"I'm Gray. Nice to meet you poor victim of pure idiocy. I hope it's not too bad."  
"Lucy, my pleasure. Thanks for your concern, but luckily the bruise is already fading."  
When Lucy looked down to let her hair cover said bruise her gaze fell onto Gray's shorts riding really low on his hips, showing his defined abs down to his v-lines. The blonde felt a blush creep across her face as she quickly averted her eyes to look back up into his cool dark eyes. Gray had noticed the girl's stare and jumped in shock when he looked down on himself.

"Shit how did that happen? Why am I only in my boxers?" He stalked off in a hurry, asking every passerby whether they had seen his pants. Lucy chuckled lightly to herself. Often people thought she would go for the cool kids to hang out with, but she was actually more drawn to the "weirdos" lately. They had so much more interesting stories and you didn't have to be on your toes all the time.

"Please don't mind them," Mira interrupted her thoughts as Gray scurried farther away. "They're actually really nice when you get to know them." Lucy just shook her head at that, smiling fondly.  
"Don't worry, if anything I find it really likeable. Being with them must be a real adventure."  
"Oh it sure is. I'm sure you will get to hear some of the most insane stories tonight. Unfortunately some of them are quite the braggers."  
"Oh I wouldn't wanna miss out on those heroic tales, now would I?"Lucy stood at the bar in silence for the next few minutes, as more people arrived and Mira started buzzing about the bar fixing drinks for the new guests until the blonde finally decided to mix in with the crowd a bit more. Lucy, who had downed the rest of the water in three quick sips, gave a small wave to the white haired bartender and started off back towards the house to explore the grounds and people there.


	4. Chapter 4

Two and a half hours later Lucy had talked to eight new people, made friends with three of them, had waved at Levy in passing and was sipping on her third cocktail of the night. Due to her petite form and the rarity of her going out to drink, the busty student could already feel a slight buzz numbing her senses and judgement. When Cana, one of her new friends and also quite the heavy drinker from what she had gathered, had asked her to finally try out the new pool she was easily swayed.

"Come on Lucy. You can't hide boobs like yours under such a shirt. Take that off and let's go swimming."  
The brunette suddenly grabbed Lucy's breasts over her shirt, making her squeal in surprise.  
"Alright, alright. Let me just finish my drink and I'll come. Just stop groping me, it's embarrassing."

She slurped the remainders of her Touch Down, her face becoming redder by the second, partly because of the alcohol, but also because of Cana's shamelessness. She didn't particularly mind it, but her strict upbringing had manifested some kind of etiquette in her, which made it hard not to be easily embarrassed by things like that. She silently thanked god for liquid courage before losing her shirt and shorts by the side of the lively, beautifully illuminated pool.  
The red and orange lights Gray and Mira's brother had hung up earlier filled up the space with light like that of a sunset. Having promised herself one night of complete fun and carefreeness Lucy made quick work of jumping into the cold but surprisingly refreshing water, before being joined by an equally eager Cana. Soon even Levy came to the pool, already tipsy too, starting a splash fight between the girls.

It was moments like these, that Lucy truly noticed what kind of fun she had missed out on when she was a child, so she took it upon herself to make up for that tenfold now that she was older. As she dived around Levy and Cana to splash them from behind she got the feeling that she was in the midst of finding the perfect people to do that with. The other girls let out a surprised squeal before Cana started grinning mischievously.

"Oh you'll pay princess," she slurred in her drunken state before tackling Lucy laughing and pushing her underwater.  
"Truce! I call a truce," Lucy burst out happily when she surfaced again.  
"Coward," Levy giggled. "Let's go get peace snacks then, cause I'm starving."

The others agreed instantly, also feeling exhausted. The pool was still full of people and also the garden area was packed. People were dancing, drinking, talking and somewhere Lucy could even hear some guys chanting 'Fight!' in anticipation. What the young woman missed though was the boy with salmon hair watching her curiously from the bar, an amused glint in his eye. He had been talking to Mira when he spotted her. Natsu was surprised to see her at the party, because she had never been with the fraternity before, but sometimes the world just works in mysterious ways and coincidences.

"Natsu, I wasn't finished you know. Don't be rude," Mira scolded him with a frown.  
"Sorry Mira, I got distracted. What was it you wanted to say," he asked, still not taking his eyes off the young blonde.  
"Nevermind. What got you distracted," she returned a question with an impish grin, always interested in the prospect of new gossip to talk about. When the young man didn't answer she followed his gaze curiously, her own eyes landing on the girl she had met just hours before.

"So you spotted the new girl? She's really nice, you should go talk to her," she suggested innocently, internally hoping for a new matchmaking opportunity.  
"I did. I hit her with a ball the other day and met her on my run this morning."  
"That does sound like something you'd do, Natsu. I just hope you didn't scare her away too much."  
"Nah, she's tough," he then grinned turning back to face her. "I'll go talk to her."

When the soccer player turned back around though he quickly slanted his eyes in anger in disgust when he saw Bora walking in Lucy's direction. That guy was known to hit on almost every female individual he came across. Unfortunately a lot of girls we're even flattered by that weird freak. What pissed him off most though, was that he never just talked to them, but he always groped too, like the disgusting pig he was.  
Natsu had repeatedly have to scare him away from some of his female friends and he was quite sick of it. One would think that guy was done with his antics after Erza had left him with a black eye, cracked rib and crushed self esteem.  
Feeling strangely protective of the blonde tennis girl he had met recently naturally his internal sirens blared to life when he saw Bora approaching her. He could feel Mira's eyes in his back, silently warning him not to make a fuzz if not necessary, so he clenched his fists tightly, slowly walking up to the group.

"You must be new here. So how would you gorgeous lady like a tour of the campus, ending at my place," Bora asked, his excessive self-esteem dripping from every word. Natsu could almost feel bile rise up his throat when he listened to probably the world's worst pick up line. God did he hope that she didn't fall for him, but when he looked up into her chocolate orbs and saw the confusion and repulsion in them, he was quite relieved.

"No thanks, I am already involved in other charity projects," she had answered, the sass basically oozing out of her as she signaled the end of their conversation by turning away. Obviously other people were watching the scene too, judging be the arising chuckles and murmurs, while Natsu too felt a grin split his face.

If he had to give that Bora-guy a nickname though, it would probably have been 'Tenacious B' because god knows, that guy wasn't going to be rejected by a straight up insult. The purple-haired guy looked flustered for a minute before regaining his composure and stepping unnecessarily close to Lucy. When he proceeded to wrap his hand around the blonde Natsu was about ready to jump in and tear that creep off her. Oh how he would have enjoyed that, but before he even had the chance to do anything Lucy had let out some sound, eerily close to a rural battle cry, as she swung Bora over her petite shoulders, slamming his body down on the ground with an angry grunt.

The surrounding crowd instantly went quiet, everyone staring at the scene playing out in front of them. Only the light whimper of the man on the ground and suddenly Natsu's roaring laughter ripped through the silence. The boy held his stomach as he kept roaring, while the crowd murmured frantically.

"Stay away, would you," Lucy simply slurred. Natsu hadn't even realized that she was quite intoxicated, but that made the scene just all the more bizarre. Tears formed in his eyes from laughing at the reddening face of that dumbass on the floor and Lucy's smug grin. The idiot quickly scrambled out of sight and it wasn't long before Natsu's laughter was joined by Cana's cheers, who was harshly patting her on the back for a job well done, breaking the silence enough for the usual conversation to resume around the poolside. Lucy, who had almost fallen over from Cana's hand on her back then also noticed Natsu, who had made his way over.

"Wow Luce, I thought I had to step in for a second there, but you handled that dumbass like a champ."  
"What can I say, just watch the queen conquer," the blonde prattled in response, pumping a weak fist towards the nightsky. Instantly a blush crept to her cheeks though, when she realized what she had just said.  
"Sorry," she mumbled suddenly very self conscious, but Natsu simply shot her his signature grin, not minding the sassy drunk side of his new friend one bit. He found it rather amusing really.

"How do you even know the queen, flame brain," Cana suddenly cut in, slinging an arm around Lucy's shoulders and raising her eyebrows at Natsu.  
"That idiot hit me with a football, so he took me for some ice cream. Why do you call him flame brain though," she answered for him, curious about the weird nickname.  
"Ah that sounds like him - I call him flame brain, because this guy-" she started, releasing Lucy to go and put Natsu in a light headlock, "-can be too hot headed for his own good."  
"I'm here and I can hear you, you know," Natsu muttered, slightly irritated that the resident drunk girl chose the same words as Mira had before.

Realization dawned on Lucy's face, while the salmon haired boy wound out of the brunette's grip.  
"Oh and I thought it was because he's so hot," the blonde thought aloud, tapping her chin, effectively ignoring the boy's shocked face. Cana's roaring laughter could suddenly be heard all over the packed backyard as she slowly walked away, holding her stomach and muttering something about 'telling Mira', effectively leaving a clueless Lucy and an embarrassed Natsu to their own devices.

"Damn, if she really tells Mira we're screwed," the boy sighed, running a hand through his pink locks.  
"And why is that," Lucy questioned, her voice being higher pitched than usual, due to her intoxicated state.  
"Because Mira thinks she's a professional matchmaker or some shit. If she takes a liking to the idea she won't stop bugging us until she's found some new poor souls she can obsess over."  
"How do you know?"  
"She does it with the guys at Fairy Tail all the time. You could become one of her new projects by simply staring a second too long at someone, it's dangerous."  
Lucy chuckles at the idea of that actually being dangerous.  
"You make it sound like she's some kind of demon, you know."  
"You'd be surprised at how close she is," he whispered shuddering and slightly leaning towards her. He had to be careful, because if Mira heard what he was implying, she'd really get her angry on and she had proven on more than one occasion, that angry Mira isn't one you'd want to get to know.

Lucy giggled at the thought, seeing as she couldn't see the sweet girl being anything close to evil or manipulating at all. But judging a book by its cover had never been something the literature student aspired to do, so she was inclined to believe Natsu for the time being, though she was intrigued to find out herself. All those different characters she had met that night seemed to be something out of a comic book, with a variety of enticing personalities she would love to get to know better.  
A naturally shy person and nerdy student of what was known as 'boring shit' to the cool kids, she couldn't really see herself fitting in with the in crowd of Magnolia University. Her gaze wandered over the young adults all around, trying to memorize the scene for future reference, as something heavy suddenly knocked her to the side. When she looked to where the blow had come from, she found a tall guy with long dark hair, rubbing his face with a sour expression. Following his gaze she saw an even taller blonde, with clenched fist and a subtle smirk gracing his features. Lucy immediately recognized him as Laxus Dreyar, captain of the soccer team and resident grouchy person.

Of course she had heard the rumors of Fairy Tail being prone to fighting - all in good spirit at that - but still she'd rather not have a part in this. When she looked back to Natsu, he was already shouting "Fight me!" excitedly at no one in particular. It didn't take long until others joined in in the violent, yet fun brawl.  
Slowly Lucy backed away, careful not to get dragged in. Searching for a nice and quiet corner to give her busy brain a break though, she did what should never be done in the face of a Fairy Tail fight. She turned her eyes away from the chaos. And so it came that she hadn't even found a spot yet, when she heard Levy cry out about her book, followed by the feeling of something sharp basically smashing her head. The blonde still managed to glare daggers at the offending object as she went down before her eyes slowly closed shut.


	5. Chapter 5

Brown eyes blinked open again to the sound of heavy footsteps and the dim lighting of a slightly run down wooden stairway. Lucy's head was spinning as she realized it bumping up and down uncomfortably, the weird sensation accompanied by a sharp pressure in her stomach. The blonde allowed herself a few moments of slowly coming to her senses and soon noticed that she seemed to be carried around like a potato sack by someone. Looking up with a groan her gaze fell onto the ends of a mop of bright hair, which confused her to no extent. Why Natsu was carrying her up a flight of stairs was definitely disturbing the young woman.

"Lucy, are you up," the man asked after he had heard her grown and felt her shift slightly on his broad shoulders.  
"Being carried like this it feels more like I'm down," the blond admitted. "What happened?"

The question sounded still drowsy in the other students ears, as Lucy was still too out of it to really object or struggle in this weird situation.

"Some douche hit you in the head with a book and you passed out, so I wanted to take you somewhere to lay down a bit. I know full well why I never read books outside of class," Natsu joked in return.

"That's all fine and well and thank you, but do you have to treat me like a sack of potatoes? My head is killing me and I'm feeling queasy."  
Lucy could feel a light tremor shake her body as the boy chuckled  
"We'll be there in a moment. Just hold out a little bit longer."  
"Well don't be mad if I puke on you then."

The blonde sighed heavily, giving in in the face of the situation and indeed not even a minute later Natsu pushed open a door with one foot, balancing both their weight on the other. He gently bent down, giving her a chance to find her footing as he let her down softly.  
"Your friend is getting your clothes by the way," Natsu commented and only then she noticed that she was indeed still in her bikini. A blush quickly rose up her cheeks as she shrieked.

"You perv!"  
"I'm just trying to help! I'm not interested in your boobs," he hastily defended himself.  
Lucy didn't know whether to be offended by that, but that was probably just her alcohol level speaking. Obviously he meant it placably. Or did he now? She couldn't make sense of her thoughts anymore, so she decided to finally lay down on the bed Natsu had brought her to.

"When we chatted about our hobbies this morning you didn't mention that you had a thing for getting hit in the head," Natsu tried to lighten the mood. "Haha, real funny. You don't give away your kinks on the first date, idiot," she snarked ironically.

"So it was a date, huh?"  
"Well, no, but since we were in the middle of implying things that are of absolute absurdity..."  
Lucy framed her statement with an exaggerated eyeroll and hand gesture, hoping to sell her very weak argument to him. Thankfully any further comment was cut off by Levy bursting into the room with a desperate look on her face.

"Lu-chan! Are you alright?"  
"Well I've been better, but it's fine. Do you have my clothes," she asks, looking expectantly at the pile in the other's hands.  
"Well…about that… Someone puked on them and I tried to wash it out at a sink, but now they're all wet."

Lucy dramatically flopped onto the bed, groaning loudly.  
"What am I cursed or something?"  
"Well you became friends with Cana. She could tell you, she's doing that tarot stuff," Natsu tried to lighten the mood.  
Instead of the anticipated smile though he only got an exasperated stare in return.

"Not the time," Lucy ended his humor sternly. "I can't walk to my dorm like this. There are too many freaking pervs on this campus. Well maybe if I take the dirt trail behind all the houses, maybe I can sneak there…"  
"Why don't you at least wear your wet clothes," Levy asked.  
"One: It feels disgusting. Two, and more importantly: Have you ever seen a wet T-Shirt contest, that's almost worse than wearing no clothes. Men are freaking animals."

Thankfully Natsu was too amused by the blonde's current state to be offended by the last part. He watched the two girls arguing back and forth for a bit, before he felt the need to intervene.

"Look, if you keep discussing your clothes will be dry by the time you're finished and you can help us clean up tomorrow morning. How about this: You can have my shirt-"

"Hell no, that's just as bad, just imagine-" Natsu put a finger on Lucy's lips to shut her up.  
"Let me finish. You can have my shirt as a cover up and I'll walk you to your dorm and glare at everyone angrily so they leave you alone. Deal or no deal?"

She still looked at him dumbfoundedly as she nodded silently.  
"Alright, then just wait here for a second, I'll be right back."  
The boy stormed out of the room, his steps echoing on the wooden stairs even over the dull bass of the music still playing outside.

"What just happened," Lucy finally asked her friend.  
"Well, looks like you're taking a boy home on your first uni party. I wouldn't have taken you to be that kind of girl," the other one teased.

Lucy stuck out her tongue in response, when the door flew open again already. Natsu was back, with a second shirt in hand.

"Sorry I just grabbed Gray's shirt for myself. He doesn't need it anyway."  
He chuckled at that and the girls were wondering if they were missing a joke here, but didn't bother questioning it further. Still giggling he peeled off his shirt and threw it at Lucy, before putting on Gray's black band shirt. After confirming that Levy would be walked home by Jet and Droy that night, Lucy got up to scramble her stuff together. She groaned as her head started pounding viciously again.  
"Let's get going, so I can sleep this off." The other two eyed her worriedly, as she made her way to the door.

On the way home she was walking silently next to Natsu for a while, admiring the stars above.

"I love the stars. They are so beautiful and calming to me."  
Natsu hadn't even looked up until she had said it, but when he did he was greeted with a clear sky full of the small bright lights.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he responded awkwardly, not sure of what to say, when she suddenly turned to face him.

"So when's your birthday?"  
"July 7th, why?"  
"That's so close to mine on July 1st! And we're both cancer!" She beamed excitedly. "Funnily enough they say cancer shies away from risks. You don't seem like the type…"  
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean," Natsu inquired, not sure whether to be offended or not.

"Well, you seem to be happy to fight, at least that's what they say about all boys in Fairy Tail. Also you're studying fire science and fighting fires isn't really the safest job,…"  
"Huh, I guess you're right. I never looked at it that way. I only do what I'm interested in really."  
"You're interested in brawling?"  
"Well, yeah it's fun. You should try it sometime," Natsu suggested with a grin. "It certainly is more fun than your astrology stuff."

Lucy huffed in annoyance. "I'm more into astronomy anyways, not astrology. Astrology is fun to play around with, but nothing I really take seriously. You take fate into your own hands after all."  
"Totally something a cheesy author would say," he teased her, which earned him a slap on the arm.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, until they stood in front of her dorm.  
"I better get going again, good night!" He turned around to walk away, when he felt her small hand on his shoulder.

"Wait. If you come up with me, I can give you back your shirt and your vest from the other day. I've washed it as a thank you, I hope that's okay."  
The boy simply nodded as he followed her into the building. Two floors up, turn right, second door on the left was Lucy's room. It was clearly a two-person dorm room, but it seemed like she was the only occupant at the time.

"No roomie, how come," Natsu asked the blonde, as he studied the minimalistic but friendly look of the room.  
"It's a long story, doesn't matter."  
He hadn't even noticed that she had already changed into her own clothes, when she already held the two shirts she had borrowed out to him with a smile. "Thank you again for lending them to me!" She was honestly grateful of the gesture, as she had made the mistake of walking around in a too revealing outfit one too many times and had to deal with what resembled a cat calling fest.

When she looked up from the pile of clothes, she took a step back, as she noticed his face coming closer to hers. She could smell a husky scent, probably from Gray's shirt on him. Her mind, having read enough novels with situations like this, was racing and jumping from plans of action towards weirdly inappropriate intruding thought.

Somehow his tan skin really looked amazing in the dim light of her nightstand lamp. Something twinkled in his amber eyes. Could it be emotion? Love even?Her heart was pumping really fast, her eyelids fluttering shut in expectation of his lips on hers.  
Lucy was quickly wondering why she didn't try to stop him, but she pushed the thought aside, somehow ready to kiss the boy in front of her. A boy she'd known for not even a week.  
She could feel his breath on her face and she pursed her lips.

"You've got something on your face," he stated plainly, rudely poking the bruise under her eye. Her eyelids flew open and she stared at the boy in utter disbelief. Their faces were still close as she blinked in confusion. "Are you freaking serious right now," Lucy asked through gritted teeth. She could basically feel a vein popping on her forehead. She didn't really know who she was more angry at, either him for leading her on or herself for jumping to such stupid conclusions.

"Oh!" Natsu suddenly cried out in realization. "That's the bruise from when I hit you with that ball! Again, sorry about that…"  
Something about his mischievous, kind of guilty smile made her furious then, as she readied herself to kick him out.

"Lucy kiiiiick," she shouted loudly, but before her foot could connect with the target, Natsu had backed out the door into the hallway. He wanted to ask her what was wrong all of a sudden, but she was already ordering to get going. After chucking the clothes he had dropped at his face she slammed the door behind her.  
"Girls…" Natsu murmured, baffled and still not sure what had just happened. Somehow he had the feeling though it was best to do as he was told and head back home, so he did, cluelessly scratching his head all the while.


End file.
